Natural Resources Defense Council

Aiming to bolster student health, Los Angeles Unified and five other major urban school districts announced plans Tuesday to ban the purchase of chickens that have been raised with antibiotics.

The action by the Urban School Food Alliance -- which collectively buys more than $552 million of food and supplies annually to feed nearly 2.9 million students daily -- will give the food industry a major market incentive to reduce the use of antibiotics in school meals, supporters said.

The widespread presence of antibiotics in food has produced bacteria resistant to it, increasing vulnerability to disease, according to health experts. The Centers for Disease Control has called...

Related "Natural Resources Defense Council" Articles

Aiming to bolster student health, Los Angeles Unified and five other major urban school districts announced plans Tuesday to ban the purchase of chickens that have been raised with antibiotics.
The action by the Urban School Food Alliance -- which...

The U.S. House on Tuesday passed a California drought bill, despite a veto threat from the Obama administration and its expected demise in the Senate in the final days before Congress adjourns.
The 230-182 vote was largely a symbolic gesture in the...

International climate talks in Lima, Peru, are entering their final week, with few hints of whether a newfound optimism that marked the start of negotiations will ultimately translate into an agreement that would rein in climate change.
Convened by the...

No one is more adept at turning crises into opportunities than representatives of special interests in Washington. And there are few better opportunities-in-disguise than the California drought.
Addressing the drought is complicated, technical and...

Wednesday's agreement between the United States and China on cutting greenhouse gas emissions could have lasting implications for the entire world. Here are some important things to know.
What are greenhouse gas emissions?
These gases come from...

Despite postelection nods toward cooperation, Republicans, who will hold the majority in Congress next year, appear poised to clash with President Obama over a range of energy and environmental issues, including the controversial Keystone XL pipeline...

Listening to the plastic-bag industry oppose bans on their product is eerily similar to what carmakers said decades ago in opposition to seat belts and air bags.
Bad idea, they argued. Bad for consumers. Won't accomplish what supporters intend.
In fact,...

A single Ebola patient treated in a U.S. hospital will generate eight 55-gallon barrels of medical waste each day.
Protective gloves, gowns, masks and booties are donned and doffed by all who approach the patient's bedside and then discarded....

To the editor: More than 310,000 people demonstrated in New York on Sunday, urging the United Nations to take strong action on climate change. Many thousands marched worldwide in support. ("Thousands pack New York's streets to march against climate...

The White House announced Thursday that it was mobilizing key federal agencies to combat a growing, global health threat -- bacteria that have evolved an immunity to powerful antibiotic drugs.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria cause 2 million illnesses and...

Foster Farms had just re-opened its main plant in Central California after a cockroach infestation, but federal inspectors were already writing-up new violations at the sprawling poultry-processing facility.
“I observed one carcass with visible fecal...

Last fall, 29-year-old Fang Da, an entrepreneur and cycling enthusiast, suddenly found himself in the midst of a coughing fit after biking near his home in Hangzhou, in eastern China.
So he went to the Internet and started learning just how serious the...

Natural gas is the neglected stepchild of the alternative fuel vehicles industry.
Used in some commercial truck fleets, municipal bus services and the occasional taxicab, the plentiful low-emissions fuel has never caught on in passenger cars — even...

In an effort to stop a recent surge in elephant poaching, states are moving to impose stricter bans on the sale of ivory, building on federal administrative actions taken this year.
New York and New Jersey have already taken steps recently to tighten...

Consumers saved an estimated $168 million in electricity last year as a result of improved efficiency of television set-top boxes, the industry said in a report released this week.
The report was the first annual estimate of the industry's performance on...

The state would exempt Tesla Motors Inc. from some of its toughest environmental regulations as part of an incentive package being discussed with the automaker to build a massive battery factory in California, a key state senator said.“It would help...

California wants 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2025 — more than 15 times the number now.
So the state pays buyers $2,500 per car, on top of a $7,500 federal tax credit, to help speed development and promote widespread adoption.
The...

The Government Accountability Office is calling on the federal Environmental Protection Agency to step up enforcement of water contamination and seismic activity associated with fracking, the high-pressure injection of fluids into wells to extract oil and...

When California launched its most ambitious effort to combat climate change nearly two years ago, there were fears it would cost workers their jobs and handicap businesses with burdensome regulations.
Since then, the state's economy has rebounded from...

Air quality regulators have reached an agreement with Exide Technologies that would bar its battery recycling plant in Vernon from resuming operations until it installs new controls on arsenic emissions that pose a health risk to surrounding...